1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of animal husbandry, and to the particular field of pet shelters.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many animals, especially pets, suffer during warm weather. These animals generally have a fur coat which exasperates the effects of warm or hot weather. Often such animals try to keep cool by lying in the shade or the like. However, even such measures may not be sufficient if the weather is hot enough or if shade or the like is not available.
Therefore, there is a need for a pet shelter that can also cool an animal.
The art contains disclosures of pet shelters that include mechanical or electrical cooling conditioners. However, these shelters are expensive and difficult to use. These shelters may also be difficult and complicated to set up and/or to knock down. Thus, they are not easily and readily usable and suffer commercially.
While the art also contains disclosures of kennels that can be cooled by ice, these kennels do not adequately cool the entire animal and thus are not as effective as they can be. Furthermore, these kennels are not easy to reconfigure either to accommodate different animals or to easily replenish the cooling elements thereof.
Therefore, there is a need for a cooled pet shelter that can effectively cool the entire animal to maximize the animal""s comfort. Still further, there is a need for a cooled pet shelter that can be easily reconfigured to accommodate different animals.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter that can be easily stored.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter that can be easily set up and knocked down.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter that can be easily reused.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter that can be easily used.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter that can effectively cool an animal.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter that can effectively cool the entire animal.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooled pet shelter that can be easily reconfigured.
These, and other, objects are achieved by an animal shelter which comprises a base unit which rests on a substrate, such as the ground, when in use and which includes a peripheral support element; the peripheral support element is releasably attached, such as by hook-and-loop fasteners, to the base unit. A frame unit is releasably attached to the base unit when in use and which includes a plurality of ribs each of which is releasably attached to the peripheral support element of the base unit when in use. A cooling gel is contained in each rib; a cooling gel is also contained in the peripheral support element of the base unit; and a flexible cover is releasably attached to the peripheral support unit when in use.
The shelter is easily knocked down for storage and then is easily and quickly set up for use. The support ribs and the peripheral support element are easily stored in a freezer section of a refrigerator and are then removed and assembled to the base unit. The cover is then placed on the set up frame and the pet can then easily enter and leave the shelter. The cooling gel will maintain a cool environment inside the shelter and the base unit can include a pet bed like material for furthering the comfort of the animal.
The entire environment of the shelter is thus cooled rather than only a small portion of the shelter, and the cooling characteristics of the shelter can be easily replenished. In fact, a user can have more than one frame so as soon as the cooling gel in the frame warms up to ambient temperature, that frame unit can be replaced with another frame unit that is cool. Since cooling elements are in both the base and the frame, the entire animal will be cooled.
The releasable nature of the connections between the frame and the base unit and the frame unit makes it easy to attach different frame units to the base unit, or vice versa whereby the shelter can be easily reconfigured to accommodate different animals.